Pandemic Parenting, New Faces of BLM, and Operation Legend

With the school year quickly approaching and coronavirus cases surging, New Mexico schools are going to be fully online until at least September 8th. Correspondent Megan Kamerick talks with single mother Bridget Montoya, who is also a nurse working with COVID-19 patients, about balancing her work schedule with her children’s education and safety.

Host Gene Grant talks to the new face of the Black Lives Matter movement in New Mexico: young organizers and activists. Organizers and activists from Learning Alliance of New Mexico and Fight For Our Lives discuss the message behind the movement and what specific reforms and changes they are seeking.

Gene Grant and The Line opinion panel look further into pushback against Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and her administration’s public health orders, particularly from some New Mexico mayors who object to closing indoor dining in restaurants. Eighteen mayors signed a letter protesting the governor’s recent op-ed threatening to remove elected officials if they didn’t comply with mandates.

The Line panel also looks more closely at the purpose of Operation Legend, the initiative that will send 35 federal law enforcement agents to Albuquerque to fight crime. Some state and local leaders are concerned that sending officers to New Mexico is just an attempt by the Trump administration to politicize the issue of public safety, while others welcome the added help. For the final topic, The Line takes on the implications for candidates endorsed by Cowboys for Trump after the racist comments made recently by that group’s leader.

Host: Gene Grant

In Focus Interviews:
Working and Parenting During COVID-19 Pandemic
Correspondent: Megan Kamerick
Guest:
Bridget Montoya, full-time nurse and single mother

Young Activists and the Black Lives Matter Movement
Correspondent: Gene Grant
Guest:
Zoey Craft, Fight For Our Lives
Janelle Astorga Ramos, Learning Alliance of New Mexico
Tatiana Sarif, Fight For Our Lives

The Line Opinion Panel:
Host: Gene Grant
Panelists:
Serge Martinez, professor, UNM School of Law
Kristelle Siarza, Siarza Social Digital
Steve Terrell, retired reporter, Santa Fe New Mexican